Dress hanger padettes



Oct. 19, 1965 M. K. BRADLEY 3,21

DRESS HANGER PADETTES Filed March 4, 1964 INVEN' OR. MABEL KROLL BRADLEY A TTOR NE Y5 United States Patent 3,212,687 DRESS HANGER PADETTES Mabel Kroll Bradley, RR. 4, Fremont, Mich. Filed Mar. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 349,257 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-98) This invention relates to an improved clothes hanger pad which can be removably installed on conventional dress hangers in simple manner and which will accommodate many hanger sizes without degredation of the desired padding function.

Conventional hangers, such as the typical wire hangers, are economical and adequate for service as a hanger. However, the relatively thin diameter of the wire often distorts clothing as, for example, a knitted suit hung there on. Further, wire hangers often rust and, thus, cannot be used when clothing is damp or the atmospheric conditions are such as to augment rusting of the hanger.

Clothes hangers having resiliently padded arms are desirable since such hangers keep the garments hung thereon smooth and uncreased, retaining the tailoring, shaping and press of the clothing. However, individually fabricated padded hangers in which the pads are permanently formed on the hanger have been expensive and of relatively short effective life due to soiling of the pads and the difiiculty of cleaning such hangers.

For these reasons, it has been desirable to provide a removable pad which could be fitted on inexpensive wire or wood hangers as desired. If the pads are removable, they can be washed independently. Further, such pads are convenient since the user need only buy the desired quantity of pads, placing them on the various hangers conventionally available and of the size to suit the clothing to be hung thereon.

While there are many types of such pads known to the art and available through commercial channels, such pads suffer from many drawbacks. For example, with the commercially available pads, it is difficult or impossible to change hanger sizes with a single size of pad. Installation of the pads often requires the employment of various attachment devices rendering installation difficult and removing one of the major advantages of such .pads.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved removable pad for hangers which can be installed simply on the hanger and which is of such configuration as to enable installation of the pad on a wire variety of hanger sizes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a removable hanger pad in which the pad construction holds the pad in the desired shape.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved removable hanger pad which can be constructed in economical fashion.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out hereinafter in the detailed description of the invention, which may best be understood 'by reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pad in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the pad of FIG. 1 installed on a hanger; and

FIG. 3 is a sectioned view of a portion of the pad shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the figures, there is shown a clothes hanger pad which can be removably mounted on a conventional hanger 11 such as the typical wire hanger 11 illustrated.

The pad consists of identical resilient pad sections 12 and 14 coupled together by means of elastic straps 16.

Each section consists of a narrow pad 18 to cover the section of the hanger nearest the hook which extends into and is integrally formed with a substantially U-shaped 3,212,687 Patented Get. 19, 1965 pad 20 defining the shoulder portions. With each U- shaped pad portion, there is provided a deformable pocket 22 formed of elastic fabric. The pocket formed of elastic material serves two functions. The pocket receives the end of the hanger. The ability of the pocket to deform ensures that the end of the hanger is properly received by the pocket despite variations in the hanger configuration. The elastic qualities of the pocket material cooperate with the elastic straps 16 securedly holding the pad to the hanger. Through this construction, it has been found that a single pad size is capable of installation on a wide variety of hangers. The elastic pocket also serves to shape the pad as will be explained subsequently.

The pad is preferably constructed from a bodying layer 26 of resilient material such as polyurethane foam, covered by an enclosing cover of a suitable attractively patterned fabric. It would be appreciated that such pads can be constructed in economical manner. The foam bodying layer 26 is merely cut in a pattern having a narrow extending portion and an integrally formed Wider end section. The fabric cut to a similar outline pattern is then stitched at the outside thereof to enclose the foam pa d. A strip of elasticized material is then attached to the center of the wider portion as by a row of stitches 28 run through both materials along the center line of the wide end portion. The ends of the elastic strip may then be brought together and sewn together along edges 34 and the outer edge 36 to form the pocket 22. The wide section 38 of the pad is then doubled over the pocket material stretched slightly and the edges 40 of the pad section and pocket sewn together as represented by the stitches 30. The tension induced by the pocket material draws the pad into the desired configuration with a slightly flattened top and a rounded outline to provide the desired shaping of the shoulder portion of the pad. The pad halves may then be joined by sewing elastic strips 16 to each half, and covering of the elastic strip with a shirred cover 32 for attractiveness. The straps are positioned on each side of the hanger to hold the pad on the hanger and simultaneously to pull the resilient pad over the hanger arm to give the desired rounded shape.

Thus, with the pad of the present invention, installation may be effected by the user in simple and expedient manner merely by slipping the pads over the shoulder of the hanger. The elasticized material in the strap and pockets will stretch to accommodate various hanger sizes. The arms of the hanger are covered by the extending narrow pad and the ends are covered by the U-shaped portion for proper support of the shoulder of the garment hung thereon.

Should the pads be soiled, they may be removed and washed in simple manner. Since there are no separate fastening means, washing is a simple operation, not requiring care to prevent losing attaching devices.

During use thereof, the pad transforms the ordinary wire hanger into a padded hanger, giving full and shaped support to articles hung thereon and preventing the damaging of the clothing by rust marks should the hangers rust.

It should be noted that the pads can also be used on the various wooden or plastic hangers in the same manner and with the same advantages as the illustrated wire hanger.

This invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes hanger pad comprising a first and second resilient pad section, each of said sections comprising an elongated narrow portion integrally formed with a wider end po tion, said end portion being doubled over to form a substantially U-shaped portion, a pocket secured within said U-shaped portion, the top edge of said pocket being securedly attached to the middle of said wide end portion, the bottom edge of said pocket being attached to both edges of the enclosing wide end portion, said pocket being formed of material having elastic properties and being attached to said middle and edges of said U-shaped portion under tension to shape said end portion into a rounded pad configuration, said pocket being closed at the outer end of said pad section and open at the inner end of said pad section to receive the end of the arm of said hanger and to elastically deform to fit said hanger end, and elastic straps connecting said pad sections on each side of said hanger to urge said sections into engagement with said hanger arms when said pad is installed thereover.

2. A clothes hanger pad in accordance with claim 1 in which said resilient pad is polyurethane foam and which includes a fabric covering enclosing said pad.

3. A clothes hanger pad to be removably installed as a padded covering over the arms of a hanger having a centrally disposed hook, comprising a first and second pad section, each of said sections comprising a resilient polyurethane foam pad, said pad having a narrow end portion integrally formed with a Wider end portion, a fabric cover enclosing said resilient pad, a strip of elastic material extending transversely of said Wider end portion a row of stitches along the center line of said Wider end portion to secure together said strip, said pad and said fabric cover, a row of stitches securing together the ends of said strip and the outer edges thereof to form an elastic pocket about the center line of said strip, a roW of stitches securing together the edges of said Wider end portion and the ends of said strip with said strip in tension thereby to urge said Wider end portion into a rounded U-shaped configuration, a first and second elastic strap coupled between the edges of said narrow end portions to cooperate with the elastic pocket to grip the hanger when said pad is installed thereon, said straps being positioned on opposite sides of said hanger to position said pad over the arms of said hanger and to shape the pad thereover.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,721,543 7/29 Chubb 223-98 2,656,955 10/53 Harrell 223-98 2,828,899 4/58 Zu-ckerman 22398 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CLOTHES HANGER PAID COMPRISING A FIRST AND SECOND RESILIENT PAD SECTION, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED NARROW PORTION INTEGRALLY FORMED WITH A WIDER END PORTION, SAID END PORTION BEING DOUBLED OVER TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED PORTION, A POCKET SECURED WITHIN SAID U-SHAPED PORTION, THE TOP EDGE OF SAID POCKET BEING SECUREDLY ATTACHED TO THE MIDDLE OF SAID WIDE END PORTION, THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID POCKET BEING ATTACHED TO BOTH EDGES OF THE ENCLOSING WIDE END PORTION, SAID POCKET BEING FORMED OF MATERIAL HAVING ELASTIC PROPERTIES AND BEING ATTACHED TO SAID MIDDLE AND EDGES OF SAID U-SHAPED PORTION UNDER TENSION TO SHAPE SAID END PORTION INTO A ROUNDED PAD CONFIGURATION, SAID POCKET BEING CLOSED AT THE OUTER END OF SAID PAD SECTION AND OPEN AT THE INNER END OF SAID PAD SECTION TO RECCEIVE THE END OF THE ARM OF SAID HANGER AND TO ELASTICALLY DEFORM TO FIT SAID HANGER END, AND ELASTIC STRAPS CONNECTING SAID PAD SECTIONS ON EACH SIDE OF SAID HANGER TO URGE SAID SECTIONS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID HANGER ARMS WHEN SAID PAD IS INSTALLED THEREOVER. 